Lou Grant was a CBS network drama TV series and spin-off of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" that was created by James L. Brooks, Allan Burns & Gene Reynolds, starring Ed Asner in the title role.
The show first premiered on September 20, 1977.
The other cast members of the series consisted of Robert Walden, Linda Kelsey, Mason Adams, Jack Bannon, Daryl Anderson, Nancy Marchand and Rebecca Balding.
"Lou Grant" originally aired on Tuesday evenings, but in January of 1978, it was moved to Monday evenings.
The show has won several critical honors during its run, including 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Peabody Award and two Humanitas Prizes.
Ed Asner won two Emmys, Nancy Marchand won an Emmy for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" four of the five years the series ran; Robert Walden, Linda Kelsey and Mason Adams also received multiple nominations for supporting Emmys.
Ed Asner served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild, in which capacity during the 1980s, he opposed US policy in Central America, working closely with Medical Aid for El Salvador.
On September 13, 1982, "Lou Grant" was suddenly cancelled after 5 seasons and 114 episodes. The cancellation of the show was the subject of much controversy despite the fact that it had high ratings, the level of which should have justified its ongoing presence in primetime (it was in the ACNielsen top ten throughout its final month on the air). However, the CBS television network declined to renew it.
It has been Ed Asner's consistent position that his political views (as well as the publicity surrounding them) were the actual root causes for the show's cancellation.
Synopsis[]
"Lou Grant" was about the trials of a former TV station manager-turned newspaper city editor and his journalist staff.
Cast[]
- Edward Asner as Lou Grant
- Mason Adams as Charlie Hume
- Robert Walden as Joe Rossi
- Linda Kelsey as Billie Newman
- Nancy Marchand as Margaret Pynchon
- Jack Bannon as Art Donovan
- Daryl Anderson as Dennis "Animal" Price
- Sidney Clute as National Editor [seasons 1-2 ]
- Emilio Delgado as National Editor [seasons 3-5]
- Laurence Haddon as Foreign Editor [seasons 1-3]
- Allen Williams as Adam Wilson [seasons 2-5]
- Billy Beck as Photo Editor [seasons 3-4]
- Rebecca Balding as Carla Mardigan [season 1]
- Gary Pagett as Financial Editor [season 2]
- Cliff Potts as Ted McCovey [season 5]
- Barbara Jane Edelman as Linda [season 5]
- Lance Guest as Lance [season 5]
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